On a Valentine's Day
by dreamfairy101
Summary: AU Soriku CloudxOC. Valentine's day was the day Riku would have Sora with him forever, until tragedy strikes. Now, Riku must go on a journey through many worlds, restoring order to the Universe, and saving Sora from certain peril. Will he be too late?
1. Prologue

**AN: I hate myself for not updating my stories, but I really love this one. This story is kind of an AU, but it WILL have the keyblade in it. This story was based off the song "Valentine's Day" by Linkin Park. Most of the story will be going with the song, but if there are any other songs to it, they will all be Linkin Park. I adore writing in Riku's POV! But Sora will have his POV in here sometimes.**

**Disclamer: Me no own the pwittyful Sora-bear and Riku-bear. Square Enix does. If I owned Square Enix, Aerith and Tifa would look exactly like me! Then Cloud could love ME!**

I think Sora and I met by accident. Coincidence.

Or was it inevitable? Mom always told me, before she died, that everything in the world was inevitable. So, maybe meeting Sora was my destiny. I never believed what Mom said... until I met Sora.

We met at a grocery store, of all places. Really, it wasn't that big a deal. I was 7 and Sora was 5. My Mom and his mom were standing in line at the checkout, and they made small talk. Soon numbers were exchanged between them. Then Sora and I were introduced. Sora and I were both standing behind our respective mothers as the conversation took place. I was surprised when Mom pulled me around to face them. It seemed Sora was as well.

The first thing I saw were Sora's eyes. They were the clearest blue I had ever seen. They looked like the sky at noon, with no clouds to block its view. His hair was a deep chocolate brown, very spiky (which would later be highlighted). He had a feminine quality to him, but very cheeky. He blushed a very rosy pink as he saw me. I could only wonder why. Maybe I was blushing, too.

"This is my son, Sora." his mom said. She ruffled his hair.

"My son, Riku." My Mom said. She pushed me forward. "Say hi, Riku."

I started fiddling with my hands. We were out in the parking lot by that time. The sun beat down against my skin, making my black nail polish shine. I managed to mutter a "Hi," but it came out kind of raspy. Sora giggled, at my choice of words, I suppose. I smiled.

Sora held out his hand in a friendly gesture. He had on the brightest grin that would nickname him "Smiles" one day, and said, "It's really great to meet you Riku!" I shook his hand out of proper manners, but I think another part of me just wanted to feel his touch, which felt amazing. Like nothing I've ever felt before.

"It's great to meet you too, Sora."

I would remember that day for the rest of my life...

I guess you could say that was the beginning of our relationship. A few days passed and I really got to know him more. He told me about his family, what he liked to do, where he went to school. The thing that really caught my interest was his birthday. His last name just so happened to be Valentine. His birthday also just so happened to be on Valentine's Day. His parent's anniversary was on that day, too. I really found it strange but he explained to me that all of it was planned out by his mother when his parent's got married.

Slowly, years past by. When it was the summer we went down to a lake that Sora's cousin, Vincent, owned. Some of those trips were the funnest of my life. We went through middle school together, and a year of high school. During that time period, Sora and I fell in love. I'll explain more about that later though.

I guess all our laughter and happiness led up to this day. Then all of the warmth and comfort I feel when I'm with Sora with stay with me for ever after this day...

At least... I hope so...

**Whadya think?!**

**Did anyone catch the Tsubasa Chronicle saying at the top? It's the most famous quote in Tsubasa. If anyone can get it right I'll make you some Mac and Cheez.**

**Read and Review! Please and thank you!**

**Side note: Riku is goth/emo-ish in this fic. Hence the black nail polish. Started way before he was seven though.**


	2. Valentine's Day

**AN: 1st chapter! I'm so happy! I've planned out the whole story. Lots of FF characters are in here, like Vincent being Sora's cousin (since Vinne's last name **_**is**_**Valentine). Defiantly lots of Cloud-goodieness! Always Cloud!**

**Disclaimer: I own Square Enix. HA! Fat chance. (don't own it) Don't own 99X or Mountain Dew either, or I'd be filthy rich.**

I walked up to Sora's doorstep. Today was the day. I would ask him, I _hoped_ he would say yes, we would live happily ever after. At least, I THINK that's how it goes. I've never done this before, and I certainly don't want to EVER ask anyone but Sora...

I rang the doorbell. It had one of those peppy tunes, like _ding, dong, ding, dong... ding, dong, ding, ding... _Just like Sora's personality. I heard lots of bounding footsteps, most likely coming from Sora. I heard some voices, defiantly Sora's, then the door swung open.

Behind the door frame was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Or probably ever will see. "Heya, Riku!" he said. His perfect white teeth glinted when he looked up at me. "You better know what today is or I'll kill you!" He took my hand and pranced merrily to my car, dragging me with him. I caught a glance at Sora's mother waving at me, and I waved back with my free hand and gave her the best smile I could muster.

"Of course I know what today is. It's Tuesday!" I said sarcastically. He weasel punched me and opened the passenger door. He got in and I quickly headed for the driver's door, jumping in over the side of my convertible. I stuck my keys into the right of the steering wheel and turned. Leaning over to Sora, I got my mouth in his sensitive spot in between his neck and his collar bone, and whispered, "It's also your birthday."

Sora shivered, and I took it as my cue to peck his cheek. I put the gear in reverse and backed out of his driveway.

I could sense he was blushing, although I saw no reason why. Oh! Was I blushing again? _Stop it, Riku, stop it! _I thought. To distract myself, I counted.

"It's also Valentine's Day, your parents anniversary, our fifth year anniversary, so on and so forth..." I grinned and looked over to Sora, who was giggling. I ruffled his hair, the way everyone does, and continued to look through my windshield.

"Don't remind me what the WHOLE day is. Just the important ones." He slid his arm through mine and leaned his head against my shoulder. I sighed at how happy I was, because, frankly, I was. I could probably be the happiest man on Earth right now, if you took a survey.

Sora turned on the radio. It was on the station I always put it on. An alternative station, called 99X. I recognized the song that was playing, but couldn't remember the group. I turned it up.

_So now your gone,_

_and I was wrong _

_I never knew what it was like_

_to be alone_

_On a Valentine's Day_

Sora's head perked up, and I chuckeld. He looked at me slyly, and said, "Who sings this?"

"I dunno. Something Park, I think. But I know the song."

"Hpmh." He leaned his head back against me. "On a Valentine's Day..." kept on going, the same line over and over again. It got annoying after a while, but then it finally stopped. The announcer person said, "And that was just for, you guessed it, Valentine's Day. By Linkin Park." Another song came on.

"I want that song."

I laughed at Sora's words. "Well... I've got it somewhere on a CD. Want me to burn you a copy?" I told him. He nodded, and I laughed again.

We were quiet for a little while after that, just listening to the radio and each others breathing. Sora continued to nuzzle himself forcefully into my arm, so I put it around him. He smiled warmly at me and snuggled into my chest. We stared out at the scenery as I drove us to school, admiring the warmth of the sun and the gentle breeze. I could tell spring was coming quite a bit early, and I was sure Sora was happy about that. I thought about what I would ask him tonight, how perfect it would be... Just the two of us... Of course, it would be just the two of us if Demyx doesn't butt in again, so I crossed my fingers.

There was no traffic, so we would probably arrive at school in about two minutes. I hugged Sora closer to me, and leaned my head against his.

"I love you, Riku." Major blushing occurred on my part, but I was thankful I didn't swivel off the road. No matter how many times we said it to one another, we would always blush.

"I love you, too, Sora." Sora blushed too. We could always predict something like that with each other.

Sadly we were at school by then. We saw Namine in her normal spot, leaning against the large column on the marble steps, drawing. Zexion and Demyx were standing by the water fountain, making out. The usual.

As usual, as soon as we got parked, Axel came running out of the school with his pants on fire, literally, again, as he does EVERY Tuesday. "That idiot." I said. Who could have picked the worst best friend ever? Me. Riku, that's who. But he's lovable when he wants to be. Every head in the parking lot and courtyard turned to the screaming redhead. Even Luxord, Larxene, and Xemnas, engrossed in their never-ending-struggle-to-win-money-by-playing-poker-on-the-local-bench/table game, looked up. Of course after ten seconds, everyone went back to what they were doing, as if no one was getting their butt burned to where they couldn't sit down. But Axel likes it that way, being the pyromaniac that he is.

And, as usual, Roxas came running out of the building with a bucket of water, sloshing without a care in the world, and dumped it on his boyfriend's pants. Roxas scolded him on the use of matches once again. The usual.

The usual couldn't be better.

We got out of the car and headed towards the mess that was Axel. The bell started ringing, I exchanged a few words of wisdom about my knowledge of matches, and Sora and I headed into the school with the rest of our friends and the crowd.

* * *

The morning passed by in a particular haze. I could hardly hear anything any of my teachers were saying, thinking about my time with Sora in our afternoon classes. I was reeeeeeeaaaaaalllly lucky I was super smart, or else I probably wouldn't have passed last year. Or the year before that. Or the year before that. All the years dating back to the year I met Sora. Ironic, huh?

Finally, lunch came. My reprieve. I went out to the courtyard and sat down on the bench containing Sora, Zexion and Demyx, Yuffie, Yuna, Rikku, Tidus, Hayner and Olette, and Axel and Roxas. I swung my arm around Sora and joined in the conversation centered on the Axel problem this morning, with Roxas doing the scolding.

"...such an idiot, Axel. I don't know why I even bother. It's like you don't even hear me when I say that gasoline is only for cars!" he said, slightly exaggerating, but kinda true. The buzz around me was all questions and rude comments to Axel.

"Ya know," I chimed in louder than the rest, "Maybe if you just listened to your boyfriend, you wouldn't be screaming your head off every Tuesday, and maybe our eardrums wouldn't bust and we could get some piece and quiet. Huh, Axy?" I threw in his pet name to annoy him.

He scowled as everyone laughed around us. "Besides," I said "It's Sora's Birthday, so can we keep the flames on the down-low for the rest of the day?" I felt Sora blush beside me.

"Ugh..." Axel grumbled, "You guys really suck, you know that?!" We all laughed heartily.

After the laughter died down, Demyx said, "So, anything you two doin' special for Smiles' b'day?" Oh, the meddling.

"Actually, we were-- Oof!" I stepped hard on Sora's foot as he almost spilled our plans for tonight to the meddler of the worlds.

"Sora decided he wanted to eat dinner with his family for his birthday this year. Right, Sora?" I sideways glanced at Sora and gave him the look only we knew.

"Ye-Yep!" he stumbled.

"So, where are you going?" I stepped on Sora's foot again.

"I haven't decided yet."

Demyx sighed in the quick defeat. Then his face perked up. "What kind of food would you want, though? 'Cause I know this great Italian place that has, like, the best ravioli that's got all these six different kinds of cheeses and they got flavored water, too! I could, like, make you a reserva--" Thankfully, Zexion covered his jabber box.

"That's enough, Demi. Now eat your food or else I'm not doing what I promised we'd do tonight." He said coolly. I mouthed a thank you to him, and he nodded.

Demyx's eyes widened in horror at the thought that Zexion put in his little brain and quickly drooped his head in the final defeat.

"Well then," Rikku said merrily, "If were not doing a group party, we might as well do everything now, right guys?" she said the last two words loud enough so all our friends could hear. I knew what they were doing, but I know Sora didn't. Everyone came over from their respected tables and gathered around Sora. Kairi carried the cake that Sora couldn't see, and I did my part by covering Sora's eyes.

"Wha-- Hey! Riku, stop! Lemme see!" He put up a struggle, but my hands didn't move an inch.

Everyone set their presents around the table, and Kairi pushed aside Sora's food and set down the cake in front of him, with Namine's artwork in icing on top. She lit the sixteen candles quietly and stood. "Okay, everyone," She said. "On the count of three,"

I started count. "One."

"Two." said Demyx.

And Roxas said finally, "Three!"

I uncovered Sora's eyes and started the singing, "Happy Birthday, to you!" Everyone chimed in when Sora's eyes gave a surprised expression, "Happy Birthday, to you," I wrapped my arms around him, squeezing tight, as tears came pouring out of his delicate features. "Happy Birthday, dear Smiles, Happy Birthday, to you!" We all started clapping, motioning him to make a wish and blow out the candles.

I couldn't describe to you how radiant Sora was at that moment. The wet tears glided down his cheek, his cyan eyes glittering. I leaned down slowly to his sensitive spot and whispered, "Make a wish, my love." His smile shined gold against the glowing candlelight, and he closed his eyes as he blushed. He leaned forward to the candles, and sat still for a moment as he made his wish. After about ten seconds, he opened his eyes and fiercely blew out the candles.

Another round of applause came, and Namine started cutting the cake. "Happy Birthday, Sora." came randomly from everyone, clapping him on the back, ruffling his hair.

"Which piece do you want, Sora?" Namine asked.

"Um, that one." He said, pointing to the piece. "Thank you, guys." He said, still crying. He hugged me tighter, and looked around at our friends. "This really means a lot to me, thank you."

"No problem, man." Roxas nudged him in the shoulder.

"So, Sora, whad ya wish for?" Tidus asked.

"It's a secret, obviously." Kairi said.

"Yeah, it is, Kai." Sora answered. "Not gonna tell until it comes true."

Tidus pouted, as did Yuffie, Rikku, and Demyx, being the meddlers that they are.

We then all started to dig in on the cake, and afterwards, one by one, Sora opened everyone's presents. Which was a mouthful.

As he reached the end, Sora whispered in my ear, "Where's your present?"

I replied "You'll get it later." His eyes were easy now as he looked at his heap of presents.

Then the bell rang, sadly, and lunch was over. Everyone helped Sora carry his gifts to my car, and I rolled up the top so no one could steal them. Everyone parted ways as Sora and I headed for our last two classes together.

* * *

It felt like the school day ended right after that. The next thing I knew, Sora and I were in my convertible driving to the spot that we would have our dinner. Sora didn't know where it was, and I blind folded him as we came near to a point he might recognize.

Soon we ended up at the lake, Sora's cousin's lake, with the docks and everything. I helped Sora out of the car with his blindfold on, and guided him to the spot where we had confessed our love for one another. The dining table and food I asked Vincent to set up was there and ready for use under the tree, flowers already starting to bloom.

"Where are we, Riku!?" Sora fidgeted nervously at my side.

"Ya know, I really can't say..." He was getting annoyed. "But maybe you can remember..." I positioned him so he could see the gleam of the water sparkling against the sunset, and took off his blindfold. He gasped in realization.

"Th-the lake."

"Yep."

"This is where we--" He looked behind me at the tree.

"Yep."

"Riku, I--" He walked over to the table and ran his fingers over the polished marble. He seemed very speechless to me, and I walked over to him and pulled out a chair, motioning him to sit down. He seated himself and I did the same, opposite from him. I could hear the soft chirping of birds and the iridescent flow of the water. I couldn't have picked a more perfect spot.

I smiled softly at Sora. I took his hands in mine, and said, "Happy Birthday, Sora." His cheeks turned rosy as we looked at each other. I glanced at the food displayed in front of me and told him, "You better hurry up and eat, or your Mountain Dew is gonna get warm."

"Mountain Dew?!" He grabbed the glass in front of him and almost choked gulping it down.

"Easy, easy," I laid my hand on top of his wet hands. "Don't drink it all, or you won't have enough to wash down your fish."

He giggled against his glass. He then raised it as if making a toast, and he urged me to hold up mine, which I did. We clinked glasses and started eating.

We sat in silence for most of the time, gazing out at the water. I thought about what I would ask him soon, the question of a lifetime. All distractions eluded me as I looked at Sora. _This will never work, you idiot!_

My thoughts jumped out at me, and my eyes widened. _He's never going to say yes to you; he's too perfect and your too worthless for him. Why are you here, Riku? Does it really make sense to you? He could have been pulling your leg this whole time and you didn't even know it! Just give up!_

"NO!" Sora jumped in his seat as I yelled.

"No, what, Riku?" He looked frightened as I had an anguished look upon my face.

"Uh-um... N-nothing. J-Just thinking out loud..." I stumbled.

"Oh. Okay." He went back to eating. He really did seem too perfect. It would be a miracle if he said yes to someone like me.

"Ooooooooohhh..." Sora looked stuffed, and slid back in his chair, exaughsted. I laughed, and set down my fork as well. I stood and walked to the other side of the tree and stood amongst the blades of fine grass. I leaned back agaist the tree and sighed as Sora joined me.

"So Riku," He layed his head against me and snuggled warmly as we watched the sunset, "Where is your present?"

All of a sudden my heart started beating faster. My breath shortend, and really, I felt nervous. Why I felt nervous, I didn't know. I had reminded myself countless times beforehand not to be nervous, but I was. How would I do this? Would I wait until the exact time I said 'I love you' to Sora for the first time? Would I wait until twilight?

_Just get over with. _The voice told me. _So you don't have any more reason to be ashamed of yourself._

_Shut up. _I told it right back.

I cleared my throat, and took Sora's hands. He turned towards me. "Sora..."

"Yeah."

"Um, you know, today is our anniversary."

"Yeah, I know."

I smiled. "We've been seeing each other for five years exactly."

"Well, five years and one day, if you count that leap year."

"Irrelivant, Sora." I said. He pouted.

"But still, five years," he gave me the look, "AND a day." I rubbed circles with my thumb on his palm. "That's a long time for most couples, you know? But, I knew we would be going out for a long time, even before we actually got together." He looked worried, and I didn't know why. "Just think, we said we loved each other for the first time around sunset, five years ago... That's longer than any of our friends have been together, even Axel and Roxas."

I glanced down at my watch. Thirty seconds till, so I said, "I love you, Sora." I looked at him, his eyes still worried. "I want to stay with you forever, until the day I die."

My heart beated faster and faster. I fiddled with the ring in my pocket, and took hold of it. "S-so," I held his hands tighter still, and got down on one knee as I pulled out the ring. I held it up for him to see. He looked astonished, like he didn't expect it. Maybe he didn't. "Sora Valentine, will you marry me?"

His eyes looked like eggs, they widend so. Tears came pouring out of them. He whimpered, fell down to my level, and embraced me. He nodded his head heavily up and down, and he shook all over. "Y-yes."

He-- What! He said YES! "Yes... Yes, yes, yes, yes..." He said it over and over again, and it felt like an oasis to me. I started crying as I hugged him tighter and tighter. I rocked him back and forth, and spoke words of calming to him. "A thousand times, yes..."

I wiped my tears away with the back of my hand, and pulled him to face me. "S-Sora, did you really just say that?!"

He nodded. "Did you really just ask me that?" I nodded back. "But-- But I thought you were breaking up with me!!"

He-- He didn't just say, that, did he? I burst out laughing, trying, but failing, to hold it in. "You actually thought I was going to break up with you!?!" I was histaric. I couldn't stop shaking. He really thought that?!

"It's not funny, Riku! I thought-- Because you-- You sounded like it. You really did!" He was still crying, and fiercly brushed at the tears. I immediatly stopped laughing, but I still smiled widely. I embraced him.

"Don't ever think that again, Sora, because I would never leave you. Not for one milisecond." I felt him smile against my shoulder.

"I won't leave you, either, Riku. Never ever. And that's for sure now." I pulled back, and held up the ring. I figured since he was a guy, he wouldn't want a big hunk of rock on his finger, so I had settled for a simple band. Tiny diamonds were placed in a pattern around it, though. And on the inside I had specially enscribed the words, 'Happy Valentine's, Sora.' on the inside. Sora seemed to love it, and slid it himself on his left ring finger.

I kissed him. I don't think I could have done anything more at that moment. We kissed passionatly, and I couldn's stop. I wrapped my arms around his waist, and pulled him up to me. He put his arms around my neck, and tangled himself in my long mass of silver hair. I felt his tounge slid through my wet lips as I caressed his bottom lip. We were locked tight together, in a moment neither of us would ever forget.

I pulled from him and stood, motioning him to follow. "We should probably head home, don't you think?" I held my hand out for him to take.

"Yeah," He took it, and stood also. He smiled at me warmly. He immediatly took me in an embrace and said, "I love you, Riku."

I just wanted to look at him for eternity. To be with him, to follow him, to love him. "I love you too, Sora." I hugged him back. "Stay with me forever, Sora, please. I don't want to ever lose you, so stay with me."

"I will, Riku. I will."

I must have been in a dreamstate then. Be cause the next thing I knew, Sora was jerked away from me and dragged onto the dock with a force. He had an anguished look on his face, and I took it as a sign he was not going of his own accord.

"Riku!" A force field of some kind kept me from running to him. He was screaming agaisnt his invisible binds, and I clawed at the barrier.

"Sora! Sora! H-Hang on! I'll get you!!!" I was crying by then. I scrapped and clawed, and even tried chewing.

Then I saw what my eyes could not believe. The binds holding Sora were not invisible, but merely picth black. Their were hundreds of them. They were creatures of some sort, with human composer, but a beast like build. They had anntenas coming from their heads in a zigzag pattern. Their eyes were a yellowish-green, and they dragged Sora, struggleing, across the pier.

"RIIIIIIIKKKKKKKKKUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!" He screeched. I was full out balling then. He kicked at them, throwing the punches I taught him. But he couldn't break loose.

"SORA!!!" I kept shaking my head back and forth, in a 'No' gesture.

The black things seemed to have opend a portal of darkness, and they threw Sora in. I screamed louder and louder until I was sure I was going to bust my own eardrums.

One by one they filed through, kicking him and stomping on him and much more I couldn't see.

And then he was gone. Just like that, he was gone.

The barrier had broken. I ran through to the portal as it finished closing, and sank to my knees. He was gone. He was gone and I would never be sure if he was coming back.

So I cried. I cried and cried and cried and cried. My cheeks were wet as if a bucket of water had been dumped upon me.

I went into histarics. To normal people I must have looked like a lunatic. "No." I whispered, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no." I took a deep breath, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I screamed. My voice echoed, and bounced off the water. "No..."

Everything around me faded away, and all I could see was Sora's frightened face. His screams echoed in my ears, making me vomit into the water.

As I regained my composer, I heard footsteps. They sounded heavy, and then I heard more lighter and aerobic steps, in perfect timing with the heavy ones. They walked onto the pier, and stopped right behind me.

Then a male voice said, "It's started. The revolution."

**FINISHED! OH YEAH! This really took me forever to write, cause I wanted to make it perfect. **

**Bet cha can't guess who's aerobic footsteps those were! (We ALL know the heavy one's were Cloud's)**

**I hope everyone liked it! It's going to get so awesome, it's not even funny!**

**Ja nai!**

**Hana-chan**


	3. Enter Hana and Cloud!

**AN: Sorry I haven't updated. Been lazy. Don't have much to say, exept that I'm really sorry about the wait, and I don't have much internet connection, so probably Chapter 3 or 4 won't be up until after we are settled in my new house. Sorry!**

**And Cloud is in character in this fic, except when he's around Hana. Then he's all the way OOC.**

**Disclaimer: You really think I own It, don't you?! You think I just go skipping along the street going, "I own Square Enix, I own Square Enix!", don't you?! You just get a kick out of it, don't you!? Don't You, don't You, don't you!? I don't own ANY of the characters except for Hana, who is obviously me, myself and I!!**

**I also own the world Andromeda.**

* * *

"It's started. The revolution."

"Cloud! Why don't you stop being all dreary. The kid just lost his fiance! You don't want to scare him any more, do you?!"

"You're not helping, Hana!"

"Shut up, Cloud!"

"Fine! You wanna do the talking? Be my guest. I'll just watch you screw up again, like I always do!"

"I love you!"

"I love you, too!"

They stood with their backs to each other with an 'I'm right and you know it' look on both their faces. I could really barely see them through my tears, but I could see that the man had spikey blonde hair, like Sora's brown hair, and he wore a black outfit with only one sleeve. The girl, from what I could see, had short brown hair and wore a pink and yellow outfit. They seemed to really like arguing, from what I could tell.

After a moment's silence, the girl said, "Well, as I was saying before butt-head interupted,"

"Did not."

"Shut up! I was saying..." She got down to my level and put a hand on my shoulder, "You okay, kid?"

"U-uh..." I tried wiping my tears, but they just kept coming. "N-no..."

She embraced me in a motherly gesture, and rocked me back and forth, "Shh... It's alright honey, it's gonna be okay." I cried helplessly into her shoulder. "See, Cloud? Look at him! I can't believe we didn't get here in time!"

I couldn't believe how much I cried. I cried to a person I didn't even know!

She pulled me back and wiped my tears withe her gloved hands. I really saw her face for the first time. She had greyish-blue eyes, and had the palest skin imagenable. She wore a pink headband in her hair, and her hair was styled a lot like Yuna's. "My name is Hana. Hana Yosei. And butt-head's real name over there is Cloud Strife. We tried to come as fast as we could to save Sora, but we must not have gotten here in time. You'll forgive us, won't you, Riku?"

"H-how do you know my name?"

"That's a secret for now. And right now, you have to come with us." She stood, and held out her hand for me to take.

"W-why?" I shrugged back.

"Because if you don't then we'll have absoulutly no chance in saving Sora, because he's still alive, Riku. They're not going to kill him for a long time, but he's still in danger." That was all I needed to get me going. I quickly stood.

"That's better!" She turned to the man named Cloud and said, "Cloud, the Gummi Ship." Gummi Ship?

"Right." He took out a pair of keys, and hit a button on a remote.

The biggest ship I had ever seen emerged out of thin air. It was black with tinted blue windows. There seemed to be something red at the top, but I couldn't see what it was. It really looked like a battle ship, or a jet, or something.

"Highwind." Hana said. She pushed me and Cloud forward. "Alright, everyone on board! Let's go! Move it people, move it!" Jeez, did she seem bossy!

Cloud hit another buton on the remote, and the side of the ship opened, with stairs leading to the inside. Hana pushed us both up to it and through, and the door closed behind us. As soon as I stepped through, lights lit up on the floor panels, the walls, and on the ceiling, one by one.

"Cozy, ain't it?" Hana pushed past us and stomped confidently through to a door on the left. She pushed a few buttons next to the door, probably entering a password, and the door opened. "Alright, file in."

Cloud strode to her and entered the doorway. She motioned me to follow.

Hana led me through the door and motioned me to a chair. "Buckle up."

She went to the front and sat next to Cloud, buckling up as well. She flicked a few switches, as Cloud was doing. "Thrusters engaged. Everything over here's set."

"Same here. Ready for take off?"

"Roger."

Cloud typed in something on a keypad in front of him, and a screen popped on the windsheild. It was a map. Destanations of numerous kinds filled it. One was labled 'Traverse Town', another 'Radiant Garden', and I saw one with a funny name, 'Midgar'.

Hana and Cloud both put on headsets. Hana used a motion sensor pad in front of her and selected a destanation called 'Andromeda'.

"Here we go! Hang on tight, Riku!" She said. I did so. Then she pulled up on the stearing wheel, or so it seemed, downward, and I felt a jerk. The ship was being lifted into the air! I looked out the window and saw the trees lowering beneath me. "Ready to go into overdrive, Cloud?"

"Ready."

"Let's go!" She pulled down a lever.

I was thrown back against the seat. I could barely open my eyes we were moving so fast. From what I could see out the window was space. Millions of twinkling stars flashed past us into who knows where. The pressure was immense, but through the slit of my eyelids I could see Hana and Cloud perfectly calm and collected. Must of been used to it, I guess.

We slid past the asteroid belt with ease, and soon fled the entire solar system. We then came to a hault, seeming to move rather slowly now. I finally had time to catch my breath.

"Hello, Cid." Cloud's calm and collected voice came from the front. I looked up and saw on the windsheild a hollowgram of a man with blonde hair and a white t-shirt on.

"Howdy, y'all. D'ya get there in time." He said.

"No..." Hana said, "We were much to late. Cloud just HAD to stop in on Barrett and Marlene in Midgar. If we hadn't, we probably would have."

"Hey! I thought we would have time, okay! Marlene's sick, remember?! I had to bring those potions we got in Twilight Town to her!"

"She could have waited Cloud! The keyweilder's life is at stake now!"

"Will you two quit yer whinin' and kiss and make up so you can get a move on!" Cid cut through their arguing. "Ya better get here fast 'cause Hartless are comin' from all over. Yuffie, Leon and me can't keep 'em off!"

Yuffie's name startled me, but I decided I would ask them about it later.

"We're heading to Andromeda now," Hana said, "We'll get there as soon as we can."

"See you, Cid." Cloud took the hollowgram off the screen.

Hana started to unbuckle. "Can you take it from here, I need to talk to Riku." She said to Cloud and stood.

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

Then they kissed. Oh, so they were dating, it seemed. Or maybe they were married.

She walked over to me afterward and sat in the seat next to me. She rested a hand on my arm and said, "Are you feeling any better?"

"Um..." I thought about how I was then. I wasn't any better than I was on the pier, was I? "I-I still think I need to take it in some more." I said. I wasn't just going to answer 'yes' or 'no', because I really didn't know.

She squeezed my arm in a friendly gesture, and smiled meakly. "I undstand how you feel more than you know, Riku. I mean, I've never lost Cloud before, but there was someone else I lost who I couldn't bear losing, either. I still haven't found him, and I was quite like you when I lost him. But Cloud helped me through it. And so did our friends in Midgar and Andromeda, where we're going now. And we'll help you through this, as well. We'll find Sora sooner than you know it, Riku. I promise you that."

I looked at her warmly. She really did seem to want to help me. I didn't know why, since we just met, but I felt I'd known her all my life. "Thank you."

She smiled more, and said, "No problem."

I thought it was the right time to ask her, "What's going on, though?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, what were those things that took Sora, what do they want with him?"

"Oh, well, I knew you were going to ask that anyway, might as well tell you." She leaned back in her seat. "Those things are called Heartless. They are made out of people who have given up their hearts to the darkness. Maleficent, a witch, controlls them. She wants Sora because he is the Keyblade bearer. You are one as well, just not as powerful as him. Maleficent needs him for her own purpose; to conquer the worlds using Kingdom Hearts, but there are people out there who want to gain control of Sora's powers to do much more than that. And they're all on a race to get to Sora before Maleficent has wiped out the last of his magic- utterly killing him-," I winced, "As we are on a race to save him."

I took a few moments to take that in. Sounded like something out of a video game, or something. I didn't really want to believe her, but it seemed I had no choice if I wanted to get Sora back. "So, um, where did these, uh, Heartless, take him?"

"We-- um..." She looked away from me, "We don't exactly know."

Well, that just ripped a big hole in my trust to these people.

"But-- but we'll find out, Riku. Maleficent moves her base every few weeks, so it's seems impossible to track her." Great. Perfect. "We actually came close, once, to invading her stronghold, but she escaped narrowly. But she won't this time, Riku. We've got you now."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

She smiled. "You'll see..."

"Hana!" Cloud's alerted voice came from the front. An alarm started going off as well. "We've got Heartless attacking from all sides!"

Hana jumped out of her seat and raced to the front. "How did we not see them coming!" She shouted. She immediatly sat down and put on her head set.

Blasts were coming from all over, rocking the ship violently. I hung on for dear life to my seat, afraid of being thrown out through the windsheild.

"We don't have time to fight them, Cloud!" Hana yelled, "We need to get to Andromeda! I'm going into overdrive, so hang on Riku!"

We were jerked foward again. I tried to open my eyes, but it hurt to even think about it. The blasts soon stopped and the ship slowed.

"I'll ask you again, Cloud; why did you not inform me of the movements of those Heartless?!" Hana shouted at Cloud.

"They didn't show up on the radar, Hana, or I would have!"

Hana got up from her seat and started pacing around. "It must be as I feared, then." She looked deep in thought.

"What do you mean?" I asked her.

She looked at me, and said "Maleficent has already begun to use Sora's powers. She has cloaked the Heartless with a steath only created by a Keybearer."

I gasped.

"Don't worry, it'll take a while for her to drain Sora. But as I told you before; He's still in danger." She smiled at me. "But once we find him, I'm not going to let anything happen to him, okay! I promise you that, Riku!"

I smiled. "Th-- Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Hana, we're landing in Andromeda now." Cloud said.

"Alright." She said to him. Then she looked back at me. "Ready for some action, Riku?"

"Wh-what?"

She laughed, and looked at Cloud, who laughed as well. "It's so funny. That's the exact same thing I said when Cloud first asked me that!"

After a second, she calmed herself, said, "You'll learn what to say to that in time," and nodded towards Cloud. She stepped in front of me, and motioned me to stand as well.

"Riku, Remember what I said earlier about you and Sora _both_ being Keybearers?"

I nodded.

"Well..." She took something out of her pocket; a round, glowing orb. "_This_is your Keyblade." She squeezed the ball quickly, and just as quickly, let go.

Hovering in midar between Hana's fingertips was a sword. The hilt was made up of two pairs of wings. One wing was a dragon's wing, the other an angel's. The blade was another dragon's wing, stretched to make it longer. At the top of the blade was a short angel's wing, making what I pressumed to be the key part of the Keyblade. At the hilt, a little keychain hung off the end, shaped like a small heart, but different, in a way.

"It's called the Way to Dawn. Use it wisely, Riku." Hana said to me. She threw the Key in my direction. I thought it was going to chop me in half, but to my immense surprise, I caught it at the hilt.

"How--" I began.

"Reflexes. Even though your mind doesn't know how to wield it, your body does." Cloud explained.

"One of the great thing about being a Keybearer." Hana added.

The ship landed with a loud thud, and the door we came through opened. Outside of it was a new world. A different one. I had to survive in it if I ever wanted to see Sora again.

We walked out in to the light, me clutching my weapon as tight as I could, knowing that it would be the key-- no pun intended-- to saving the love of my life.

Some Valentine's day this was.

* * *

**I know it is short, but I really want to get some of Sora's POV in here too.They won't be formatted like Riku's, they will be like diary entries. Mostly because that's what Sora is keeping with him in his cell. Oops! Spoiler! Oh well... Hope you enjoyed it! Please comment and fav! I don't mind flames, either, but I don't really like them...**

**Hana-chan**


	4. Sora Diary Entry 1

**AN: Hey Everyone! I just really want to get the story out! This one is going to be short, because it's a diary entry. It's only skimming over what happens with Sora after the Heartless have taken him away. So enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Do I really have to say it for the fourth time. I DON'T OWN IT!**

_Dear Piece of Toilet Paper, February 15th, 2008 _

_Okay, I'm not going to say diary, because it actually is a piece of toilet paper. That's the only thing I have in this place, besides the rat that lives in it's little hole over in the wall. I named him Riku, to remind me of what I'm missing while I've been kidnapped. He does look like him, though. Not that Riku's a rat or rat looking... The little guy has white fur, like Riku's hair, and he's got green eyes, too. Maybe, if I ever get out of here, I'll rename him and keep him as a pet._

_I can't stand this place at all. It might be bearable if the real Riku were here, but he's not. All I can see in my head, over and over again is he face while I was being dragged away by those things, Heartless, I heard that witch person call them. She's the one who's keeping me. I don't remember her name, Mal-something? I don't know, and I do know that she wants to kill me. It almost felt like she did earlier. She hooked me up to this machine, and started draining my energy, like something out of a video game, or a movie. I feel so weak right now, I can barely even write. They gave me some food, but I'm afraid to eat it. I don't have a cot to sleep on either, though why I would sleep in this place I don't know._

_Where are you, Riku? I need you here with me so badly, I can't stand it! The ring on my finger just feels like a burden without him here. I feel like I'll never see him again, because I know I'm going to die here. Maybe, if I could see his face again, I wouldn't mind dying do much. But that last scene, the look on his face. I'd much rather carry with me to the afterlife an image of his smiling face as my last memory of him._

_Maybe, maybe Riku's looking for me. Maybe he's coming to get me. I hope he saves me soon. I don't want to die at all, much less die here. If I died anywhere, it would be in his arms. We would be married, like I said we would, and we'd be old and withered. We would die together._

_I'm just dreaming, really. I guess that's all I can do in this place. I don't even think the rat thinks I'll get out of here alive._

_I don't remember getting here. I saw a little bit of the outside when they were draining my energy. It looked like we were in some kind of castle. You know, one of those medieval ones that sit on top of a hill, and around it there's this kind of mote with a drawbridge. That sort of thing._

_The witch, Maleficent, I remembered her name, she was really evil looking. She was in all black and dark purple, with these horn things sticking out of her head. She had this crow following her around everywhere. And this big guy, really ugly, she called him Pete, he was following her around like a sick puppy begging for it's mom._

_Oh, no! I'm running out of toilet paper. I don't want to use more, cause it'll look sloppy. I'm not a sloppy person, even when I'm being held hostage. I guess I'll go now. I think Riku Jr. wants my attention._

_Sora_

**I know. Extremely short, but you'll live. All of Sora's are going to be short. Next, more Riku!**

**Oh! I forgot in the last chapter, I made a play list of songs that go along with the story. I'll give you five songs this time, for my forgetful-nesses, but after that, it's two at a time, so I don't spoil the ending. I know, some of them are really poppish, but I'm not looking at the music, just the lyrics. Put them in the order they go in, and don't mix them up. Put them on your iPod if you want! **

**1.Because You Live-Jesse McCartney (Roxas' voice!): Riku to Sora**

**2.The Reason-Hoobastank: Riku to Sora**

**3.Valentine's Day-Linkin Park: Riku to Sora**

**4.My Immortal-Evanescence: Sora to Riku**

**5.Bring me to life- Evanescence: Sora to Riku**

**Enjoy them! I'll be adding two more every two or three chapters. I don't have an estimate of how long this fic will be, or when it will be done. I hope people will follow along!**

**And before I forget again! Another Mac and Cheez contest! Can anyone guess what movie the pun is from? Sora being in the cell, writing on a piece of toilet paper, a rat as his only friend. They take him out of the cell to torture him? I'll give a hint, and it's a big one, so be thankful. Natalie Portman is in it. First one to get it right gets a hug and my famous Mac and Cheez.**

**Ja Nai!**

**Hana-chan!**


	5. Andromeda

**AN: Hello my peoples! I'm so glad I'm getting reviews, even if it's only a few. And I finally got a favorite! I'm so happy! Here's Riku's POV again! Remember, Andromeda's a world I totally made up. If it has a few glitches, don't even bother with them.**

**Disclaimer: Great, another one of these to make up. Let's see... I don't think I own it. I mean, I own a copy of the **_**game**_**, but do I own the company? I kinda live in the US, so if Square is lying to us and is really based here, then we've got some serious issues to attend to... But, the only things I own are Andromeda, Hana, and now Damien and Jesse. (different Jesse from the beginning of FFVII) **

* * *

The first thing I saw when I stepped off the lift was Yuffie. My friend Yuffie Kirasagi. You wouldn't believe what a surprise it was to me. It was like she came from a dream. Sora's birthday lunch seemed like years ago now, and it was like I saw her for the first time.

_What is she doing here? _I thought.

The next thing I saw were the Heartless. The same ones that dragged Sora away from me. At least, they were the same _kind. _

Yuffie was busy fighting them. Of course, when she turned and saw us, she exclaimed, "You two are the slowest people in the world! What can I do to get you to move faster, separate you?"

It was a rhetorical question, but Hana answered anyway, "Not gonna happen." She was unsheathing a sword that she wore on her back. Cloud was doing this as well. There was so much fighting going, they both had to shout to talk to each other. Hana then turned to me, and said "You took kendo, right?"

"Uh, yeah. It's required." I answered.

"Good." She smirked. "Let's see if you can use the Keyblade." Then she turned back towards the mess of Heartless and ran up swinging her huge sword at them. Cloud did the same. It was like they were twins separated at birth or something, how they mimicked each other.

Confused and disoriented, I stared blankly after them. I was supposed to fight these things?! No way was I doing that.

But then, Sora's face flashed across my mind. My last memory of seeing him. It made the tears in my eyes burn with a fury I didn't recognize. I gripped the Keyblade tight, making my tendons stand out, I'm sure. These were the things that took Sora away from me.

With that in mind, I ran up to the nearest one I could find, and slammed my sword as hard as I could down on the black head of the creature. I whacked it harder and harder each time, until it was finished. Then I moved onto another one. Then another one. Then one more. I couldn't stop. _For Sora. For Sora. For Sora. _That repeated over again in my head. It's what drove me onward.

More and more Heartless kept coming, and I kept swinging. I could barely see through my tears. From what I could see from my surroundings, I saw Hana, Cloud, and Yuffie fighting the beings close to me. Farther away, I could see the man named Cid and another man with slightly long brown hair, whom I assumed to be Leon, the man Cid mentioned when he was a hollow gram.

I looked around some more as I kept swinging. Andromeda just looked like a small town. There were shops, markets, homes, those sort of things. The streets were cobblestone, and had a purplish tint to them. In fact, the whole town looked purple. That was strange. I'd never seen a purple town before...

I looked around to see that other people were fighting as well. I couldn't see them clearly, so I took a moment to wipe my eyes with the arm I wasn't using. When my vision was clear, I saw four people. I couldn't tell what gender the first two were, but one had green and one had blue hair. The green haired one was wielding a bow and arrow that he/she shot numerous times at the Heartless. The blue haired one threw daggers, and I could tell he/she was the thief type, like from a video game.

But those two weren't what caught my attention. I barely took them in.

The other two people were Axel and Roxas.

I dropped my Keyblade and sank to my knees. Then, everything went black.

* * *

I awoke to a light. It was slight through the slits of my eyelids, but it was light. Maybe a window? Or maybe I was still on the battlefield, Heartless swarming around me.

I bolted up right, flinging a blanket off me as I remembered what had happened. _Sora's gone, _was what first came to mind. Then I remembered how it happened, Hana and Cloud, the sea of Heartless, seeing Yuffie, Axel and Roxas. It was all too much.

I looked to my left to try to distract myself. _Window then. _I thought. The light was coming in through a low, semicircle window that was situated next to the bed.

_A bed. _Had I been dreaming? No, this wasn't my bed. And it wasn't Sora's either. I sometimes liked to sneak into his house and lay with him as he slept.

_Sora... Oh Sora. I'm so sorry! _Everything has gone wrong. He's gone, and I couldn't stop them from taking him!! I felt like screaming until I was thrown back into the darkness of unconsciousness.

"Well! I see you're awake!"

Hana's voice startled me, disrupting my thoughts. Good, I needed a distraction.

"Oh, um, yeah..." I mumbled.

"You gave us quite a shock there, collapsing like that," she sat on the edge of my bed. She seemed very perky. "In the middle of the fight, too! Axel was so worried, he looked over and his best friend was laying lifeless on the ground! It took several minutes for Roxas to calm him down to tell him that you had just fainted!" So they really were here! "But you have every reason to faint. You've been through a lot." She patted my leg, hidden partially by the blanket.

I decided to play dumb, and said, "Axel and Roxas!?"

She smirked. "I knew you would be surprised." I swung my legs out from the covers, and sat on the edge of the bed as well. "I knew it with Yuffie, too. You were shocked to see her, right?"

I blushed, "Yeah."

"They serve as guardians. They were sent to your home to protect Sora. You're a guardian as well, you just never knew it."

I took that in. So, Axel and Roxas were just there to protect Sora. Well, they did a sucky job of it. Or, maybe they thought because I was there with him, he wouldn't be taken. How wrong they were...

Hana gently rubbed my back. "You okay, Riku?" she asked.

"As well as I'll be for a long time, I guess." I was never going to be okay.

"Yeah. I suppose so." She didn't say anything more.

We sat there for awhile. I thought hard in the silence. So Axel and Roxas were here. And Yuffie, too. I should be happy, but I can't get this bad feeling out of my chest. Maybe because they weren't there when it happened. They didn't see Sora being dragged away from the pier, into a perpetual hole of darkness.

"So! You hungry? We've got breakfast started, and you should defiantly change out of those clothes, too!" Why was it she was always pulling me out of my morbid thoughts. Could it be that she read minds!? Nah. That's stupid. She probably sensed it on my face.

Then a low grumbling caught my attention. It came from my stomach. "Yeah..." I said. I guess I was hungry. Who knows how long Sora's birthday dinner was ago.

She jumped up from the bed and pranced merrily to the door. She waited as I followed her, stiff from sleeping so long.

"Hey, how long have I been asleep?" I asked her.

"Oh, probably a little less than a day, I'd say. You fainted around the same time now yesterday. So, yeah, about a day."

A whole day. A whole day I could have spent looking for Sora. But I guess I couldn't dwell on that fact.

She grabbed my arm and dragged me through the doorway.

The hall was purple, just like the outside was as well. I wondered if the people of this world could only see the color purple, and every thing else was black. For all I knew, the people could be purple themselves. Oh, well. I don't think I'll ever know, and I wouldn't bother asking.

We flew down a flight of stairs, and raced into what I assumed was the kitchen.

And there they were, Axel and Roxas. Mine and Sora's best friends. I don't think, that after all that's happened, I could get used to seeing them here.

But I could get used to the sight I was seeing. I was seeing Axel in a lacey apron that only a Grandma would wear, and he was cooking. I could tell how burnt the pancakes were just by smelling them. Were they even pancakes?

I burst out laughing in a hysterical frenzy at my best friend. I couldn't help the hot tears streaming down my face.

All at once I realized they were happy tears. I had my friends with me again. The only thing I would trade for them is to have Sora back. And that's what we were doing here. To find Sora.

And it felt like the usual all over again. A different place, world, but the same people, and new ones, too. I could defiantly get used to it.

"Grrrrrrrr..." Hot-head Axel growled a me. I looked up at him, my laughter quieting. He was mad, but I didn't care. I ran up to him and hugged him. Hard. It's only been two days and I've missed him. Axel's an infection, I think. I can never get rid of him.

And despite of it all, he hugged me back. "We'll get him back, Riku, I promise," he whispered. I was still crying, and he thought it was because of Sora. But now that I thought about it, it made me cry even harder, and they were sad tears, too. I hugged him so tight, he caught his breath. But he rubbed my back, and I buried my head in his neck.

I could tell there were stares being burned into my back. But that was okay. I'm sure they would understand.

I pulled back to see. He was smiling at me, and I smiled back.

"Now stop crying!" he said. "You think Sora would want you to cry right now?"

I shook my head. "No. I guess he wouldn't."

"I bet you he'd make a joke about it!" Roxas butted in. "He'd say 'Stop crying, Riku! You're gonna start a flood!' or something like that." He was probably just trying to cheer me up, but it didn't on the inside.

Still, I kept a straight face, and said, "Yeah, then I'd ruffle his hair and we'd have a good laugh about it..."

Roxas smiled, and shrugged.

Suddenly, someone shoved me in the back. I jumped and spun around, seeing Hana with a slight grin on her face.

"You didn't forget us, now, did you?" She said.

"Oh, um, no." I stammered. "Sorry."

"S'okay." She grabbed my arm. "C'mon. I want you to meet some people!" She dragged me across the kitchen into the dining room. There, a group of people sat or stood around a rounded table, making idle chatter. I recognized Yuffie in the bunch, but Hana took me to the spot where the two I saw earlier, the blue haired one and the green haired one from the fight, were standing. I could see now that they were definantly both male. They seemed to be joking around.

"Damien, Jesse, this is Riku. Riku, this is my brother Damien and my brother-in-law Jesse." They stopped talking as Hana introduced us. They smiled at me.

"Hey there!" The boy named Jesse grabbed my hand and shook it really hard. "It's so great to meet you Riku! Finally! Hehe. I want you to know you can come talk to me for anything. ANYTHING at all! You name it! I'm an expert at everything! Really! I think we're gonna be great friends! You'll see!" His sentences started to run together. He was one of the talkative types. Kinda reminded me of Sora.

I shook my head slightly, not enough for anyone to notice. "Oh, um, yeah, thanks." I smiled meekly.

He let go of my hand, finally, and Damien shook it. "Hey." he said. He didn't seem very talkative. Quite the opposite of Jesse. I assumed quietly to myself that they must be married, or Jesse might not be Hana's brother-in-law. They looked like they fit each other perfectly.

Hana dragged me away from them towards Cid for an introduction. "Hey Cid! This is Riku." He was at a computer in the back of the room.

"Well howdy! So yer the Keyblade wielder everyone's bin talkin' bout." He held out his had for me to shake.

"Oh, um, yeah, yes sir!" I shook his hand. His grip was pretty firm.

He laughed. "No use in gettin' yer knickers in a bunch. I won't hurt ya."

I nodded. Hana dragged me away from Cid to the man named Leon. Yuffie was with him, and she pounced on me as soon as she saw me.

"Hey Riku! Aw, I missed you. I can't believe Sora's gone. His birthday was only yesterday, it seems. Oh, wait, I mean the day before yesterday! So how are you doin'?"

I hugged her back. "I'll be alright."

She smiled at me. "Don't worry, Riku, we'll find him. You can bet your life on it!"

"Well," Hana said from behind. "I'll leave him in your care." She walked away towards Cloud after she patted me on the back.

"Hey Leon!" Yuffie said. "This is Riku!" She pointed me towards the man. He had an annoyed expression on his face.

"I told you! My name is Squall! Squall Lionhart! Doesn't anyone get that around here?!" He yelled at Yuffie.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever, Leon." She smiled at me. "His other name is Mr. Grumpy-pants, but you can call him Leon. He won't bite."

"Ugh. Why do I even bother?" he said, storming away.

I laughed. Wait, I laughed? Wow. I guess I really will be alright. Although, laughing isn't near as fun as it would be with Sora.

"Are there any new developements." I heard a whisper from behind. I didn't turn around, as Hana probably wouldn't want me hearing.

"No. Looks like she's hid it good this time." Cloud whispered back.

"What are we going to do? With the revolution coming, there's no way we can beat it without Sora. Omega won't stop once he's started."

"I know, but do we have any other choice? You know how hard it's been trying to track Maleficent. And with Sephiroth on my tail, it isn't going to get easier."

"Oh..." She hugged Cloud, as I could see through the reflection on Cid's computer screen. "Why won't Sephiroth just leave us alone? He's been tracking you for years, and he still won't give up!"

Cloud layed his head on Hana's and stroked her back. "He won't stop, Hana, he just won't. Not until I defeat him for good."

"Then stop running from him, Cloud! We won't get anywhere with this if you don't face him." She jerked away from him. "What good is the running if we know he'll find us eventually?"

"He won't find us this time, Hana. This time we hid this place well."

"So? That's what you said last time, and look what happened."

Cloud looked deep in thought now. "I don't want what happened to Tifa to happen to you. I faced him then, and Tifa got in the way. I know you, too. Nothing would stop you from trying to help me." He hugged her close, gently. "I couldn't bear it if I lost you." I tear rolled down his cheek. Funny, I didn't peg him for the emotional type.

"Oh, Cloud..."

"BREAKFAST!!" Axel yelled from the kitchen. We all covered our ears as he rang a bell, signaling breakfast was ready.

"We're right here! You imbecile!" Damien yelled.

The ringing stopped. "Hmph," Axel smirked. "Just trying to get your attention." He walked away as Roxas brought four or five plates piled high of pancakes on a tray out to the table. We all sat down around the table. The pancakes didn't look burnt, so I figured Roxas must have taken over when the pancakes had looked too scorched. People passed the plates around as they grabbed a handful of pancakes off the plates. I grabbed three, poured syrup on them, and gobbled them up.

"You sure are hungry, Riku, aren't you?" Yuffie asked next to me.

I swallowed the last bite I took. "Yeah. I haven't eaten in over a day."

She smiled at me, and took a bite of pancake.

I looked around the table. At my old friends, and the new. Hana and Cloud seemed to have toned down from their disscusion, ans they were laughing. Axel was giving Roxas a nuggie, as only the most gayest couple in the world could. Leon was busy looking ticked off, so I assumed that would be normal from him. Damien and Jesse were holding hands, seeming to have a heated conversation, so that pretty much confirmed my thought as to their marital status from early. Cid was looking over some printouts from his computer. All in all, I think it was a really good morning.

I really could get used to this.

All I really needed now, was Sora in my arms. Then the usual would be complete.

_I'll find you Sora!_ I thought. _I'll get you back, I promise!_

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**I'm sorry for the long wait. This chapter was hard to write. I hope you enjoyed the hint at the up coming storyline in Hana and Cloud's conversation. Oh, and the disclaimer, I forgot to mention I own Omega, too. Well, we'll see where this story goes.**

**I'm also sorry if Cloud seemed just a tad bit OOC. The tear had to be there, and I know Cloud would never cry, but it would look like he didn't care about her. He really does, more than Tifa. Maybe not Aeris, but who knows? **

**This is a little shorter than the first chapter, but they take a long time to write if they are too long. They'll be longer soon, trust me.**

**Bye!**

**Hana-chan**


	6. Hana's Story

**AN: Hey! I've got some more great ideas as to where this fic will go. I hope you guys have been enjoying it so far! On an unrelated note, I got Breaking Dawn! Two words. Wow, and Wow. Amazing. It did leave me breathless!! Anyway, back to the fic, and KH, I also want to mention that I BEAT SEPHIROTH IN KHII!! I HAVE FENRIR, AAAANNNNDDDD I SYNTHESIZED ULTIMA WEAPON! WHOOHOO!**

**Enough of that.**

**Disclaimer: I don't know why we have to put these disclaimers. This is . We write about things that we DON'T OWN, so obviously we didn't write it. But, anyway, all I own are Hana, Jesse, Damien, Andromeda, and Omega. Also a new character that will be introduced in this chapter, even though he's only talked about. His name is Yuki. No more spoilers than that!**

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"Hold still, Riku! Or you'll make me stick you with this pin!" Hana said.

The next day, Hana dragged me from my bed at the crack of dawn to her room. She insisted that I was stripped of my clothes from Earth, as they were too plain for the adventure we were about to embark on. She made me take off all but my underwear, and had me stand in the middle of the room as she draped outfit after out fit on me. We had been in the room for a couple hours until she found the perfect ensemble. The pants were baggy jeans that dragged the ground.The shirt was a black tank top, with a yellow vest unzipped. It had a silver belt, and the shoes were gray, a very common tennis shoe style. I had an arm warmer, but just one, on my left arm, that was a very light beige.

Hana was just sizing it up to fit me, and it seemed to be taking awhile. I had started fidgeting about five minutes ago, and Hana was getting ticked off. "I'm almost done, Riku! Just be patient for another minute." She was fixing my pants to were they didn't drag the floor as much, since that would probably get in the way when in battle. "I want this to be perfect. I'm a perfectionist. I don't plan to let you go off into a world and trip on your way out of the Gummi Ship. Understand?"

"Yeah. I guess."

"Knock knock!" Jesse said at the door. "How's it going, guys?"

"Alright, if Riku would stop moving long enough for me to finish." Hana replied.

Jesse laughed. "You better hold still, Riku. Hana tends to beat up who ever doesn't do whatever she tells them to." He rubbed his neck. "Believe me, I know." He laughed again.

"Haha, very funny, Jesse. Now if you don't go away, we'll have a repeat of last spring. We don't want that, now do we?"

Jesse looked anguished. He quickly sped away from the doorway.

Hana laughed. "That's gonna be you if you don't stop moving."

I stood stock still. "Yes, ma'am."

She giggled. "Don't take it that seriously. I just like people doing what I tell them to. Something my mother taught me."

"Remind me to thank your mother."

"Will do."

We were silent after that. I looked at a crack in the purple wall.

Maybe this was a good time to ask Hana about the world we were in. "Hey, Hana. Is it just me, or is everything in this world purple?"

"No. Its not just you. It's just what Andromeda's like. All the worlds have different properties, and history. This world became purple back when they had this big war. One side argued that everyone, and the whole world, for that matter, should have individuality. Everyone should be different, like back on our home world." I looked at her puzzled. "Yes, I'm from Earth, but more on that later. The other side argued that there should be a system, and everyone should be part of a whole."

"I can see who won."

"Yes, but its a nice world. They were friendly enough to offer us accommodations, something they don't normally do for outsiders."

"So, are the people purple?"

"No, of course not. Their skin isn't purple. But they do wear purple."

"Ah."

I stared back at the crack. It trailed from the ceiling to a spot near the window. "So you're from Earth."

"Yes. America. It's hard to explain how I got here. It's a long story, too."

"Oh. Did you come here with your brother?"

"No. To tell you the truth, Damien isn't really my brother. He's my brother-in-law. He's my husband's brother."

"Cloud?"

"No." She stood up. "There. You're done."

"Uh, thanks." I stepped down. "What do you mean, no? I thought you and Cloud were married."

"We've thought about marrying, but it's just too dangerous."

"Too, dangerous? Why."

"Long story." She walked towards the door. "Come on. There's a meeting. A lot of your questions will be answered soon."

She lead me down the hallway to the dining room. Everyone else was was already there, quietly chatting. I took a seat next to Axel.

"Hey, Riku. How'd ya sleep?" He nudged me as I sat down.

"Alright. You?"

"Oh, I slept _great!_" He looked over to Roxas sitting next to him, talking to Yuffie.

I rolled my eyes. So like him.

"Alright, everyone, settle down." Cloud stood at the head of the table.

The table quieted. Everyone who was standing sat quickly. Cloud must have the most authority in this group.

"Now that we're all here, we can start." He sat down himself, and Hana stood.

"Now we all know that Cloud and I did not complete our mission to rescue Sora," She looked over to me. "But let us not be discouraged by that. We have gained a new member, and a very strong one at that," She gestured to me. "As he is a Keyblade wielder, just as Sora is. Which means not only do we have the upper hand, but we will also have means of finding Maleficent's hideout much easier, now. With two Keyblade bearers, there will be no hiding it." I looked at her curiously. She looked over to Roxas. He nodded at me. He must have been like Sora and I, too. "And once we contact King Mickey, Maleficent won't stand a chance, with her army of Heartless."

She pressed a button on the table. A hollow gram came up from it. It looked like a space map. "We are all going to split up when we leave here. Cloud, Riku, and I will be following the pattern I set out for us before we got to Riku's home world. We will be first landing in the Land of the Dragons. We will scope out the area for clues to the eight signs. Then we will leave and head North to Narnia. The inhabitants are in trouble there, it seems. We will help them as best we can, but we need to find Sora, and fast." She pointed to each of these worlds on the map. "Now, as for teams. Cid, you will obviously stay here for maintenance and surveillance. Roxas and Axel, I'm sending you two to Midgar. Barret said he saw while we were there something that resembled a sign, so if it is one, contact us and we'll meet you there." She pointed to Midgar. It was highlighted red, while our course was pink. "I've recently contacted our friends Yuna and Tidus in Spira," Yuna and Tidus? More people from Earth? "They are willing to help us, so I would like Yuffie and Leon to bring them here. They will join Axel and Roxas later, on their route. Damien and Jesse, you will be going to the Island. Flick seems to be in trouble there, too, and because of the surroundings, I'm guessing there is a sign somewhere there, as well." The course to Tidus and Yuna was highlighted blue, while Damien and Jesse's course was green. Andromeda was highlighted purple. "I've planned each of your routes in your Gummi Ships, so do not stray from your path, or I will know. Everyone will meet back at Disney Castle. I've contacted Queen Minnie, and she said the King is close to coming back, and she will let us know when he has returned. Donald and Goofy have decided to join Mine, Cloud, and Riku's party, so we will meet them in the Land of the Dragons."

"Do we have any new leads as to Maleficent's hideout?" Leon said.

Hana sighed. "Sadly, no. We've been doing the best we can. I also contacted Aurora, as Maleficent has a long history with her, but she doesn't know where she could be either." She touched another button on the panel. "The only help she could give us was that Maleficent really likes her castles. Most of the hideouts we've uncovered have been palaces, and I've found all the castles in the universe," The map change. All the worlds were now castles. "But that probably won't be much help, as Maleficent has probably hid it well."

"But what about Riku and I? We'll be able to track her, won't we?" Roxas said.

"Once we find a lead, you will. That's why I want each of you to ask around on the world's. Describe Maleficent to them, as someone must have seen her on one world or another."

I fairly confused at this whole ordeal. What were these signs that Hana kept talking about? Who was this King Mickey? Why were Tidus and Yuna a part of the team?

"I don't understand." I said to Hana. I told her my first question.

"The eight signs are a way of finding Sora. In each world, the sign is different, yet the same. Each of the signs have a part of Sora with them, but it is also mixed with a part of the world, as well. The signs are sort of like a keyhole, but they aren't at the same time. To lock or unlock them, you must be able to understand the inscription around them. Most of them are very hard to find. We have currently found three of them, but we cannot unlock them without one of the Keybearers that are closest to Sora."

"Why haven't you used Roxas? He's Sora's best friend."

"I'm not as close to him as you are, Riku." Roxas said. "You guys are in love. That's the closest anyone will ever get to him. It has to be you."

Hana nodded at him. "Roxas is right. And even with you here to read the inscription, for you are the only one who can, we still need three Keywielders to unlock them with their Keyblades."

"Thus brings us to King Mickey." Cloud said.

"Who is he, anyway?" I questioned.

"The King is the king of Disney Castle. He is also a Keywielder. More powerful than you are, but not Sora. He may be more skilled than Sora, but that is just because Sora has yet to unlock his true powers. And he won't do that if Maleficent drains all of his energy. If he loses it all, he could..." She stopped.

_"_Die." I finished for her. I looked away. "That's not going to happen. Not while I'm here it isn't."

I looked back at her. She smiled at me.

"Anyway," I said, to drive away from this unpleasant topic. "What are Tidus and Yuna doing in the picture, here?"

She laughed. "They, unlike Axel, Roxas, and Yuffie, are not the Tidus and Yuna from your world. They are infact the same person inside, yet their outside is entirely unique to their world, Spira. They have the same heart as Tidus and Yuna in your world. They do not know you, so do not bother asking them, as their minds are not closely connected with their hearts."

"Oh." I thought for a second about asking her one more question, a question that I shouldn't be asking, because I wasn't supposed to know this name.

Instead, I pulled a random question from my question pool. "How will we unlock all the signs, and when we do, how will that help find Sora?"

"You'll use your Keyblade to unlock them." Cloud said. "A light will emit from the tips of yours, Roxas, and King Mickey's Keyblades, each a different color. A different power. They will mix in a certain way, depending on the sign, and unlock it."

"Once all of them are found, you stay at the last sign you've unlocked." Hana said. "It should be the one that was the hardest to find, as that will be the most important. You alone, Riku, will point your Keyblade to the sky, causing each of the eight signs to emit light, sending it towards the Keyblade. They will mix, and then they will point us directly to Maleficent's hideout."

"How come you've never had to use the signs before?" I asked.

"Maleficent has never captured Sora before. The signs are only able to use when the strongest Keywielder is in danger."

"Oh, and that would be now, right?"

"Yes."

"So, why is Sora the strongest Keywielder?"

She smiled. "Because of his heart. Out of all of you, his heart is the most pure. Almost no darkness inhabits it. Not enough to overtake him that is."

"So who has the most darkness in them?"

"Eh... Um, uh." She looked around the table. Everyone seemed to nod at her. She turned back to me. "You do, Riku."

I was shocked. Me? I have darkness in me? I mean, I'd always been a little on the goth/emo side, but I've always been good natured to everyone. I was a pretty nice guy and all, at least I thought so. "Me?" I said, meekly.

Hana nodded. "But the chances of you succumbing to the darkness are very slim, Riku. The darkness in you only inhabits you, it doesn't rule you... Unless you're willing to act on it."

"That's why you have to be careful on this trip, Riku. There will be temptations so strong, it will take all of your will power to overcome them." Yuffie said. "You may want to give into the darkness, but the darkness won't help you find Sora. Only the light can, because the darkness wants Sora for it's own doing."

"Nothing good can come out of the darkness." Cloud said numbly. "Only death and despair."

Suddenly, Cloud pushed his chair back quickly and got up. Then he briskly walked away.

"Cloud..." Hana called softly after him. She reached her hand to his already disappeared form.

She looked back around the table. She stood straight and cleared her throat. "We will leave in two days. Be prepared. I suggest you start packing now. Meeting adjourned."

She started to walk away. I stood quickly, and said to her. "Um, Hana, who is Omega?"

Everyone who started to get up froze. They all stared at me in horror.

Hana turned around. "How do you know that name?!" She raised her voice a little.

"I--I, uh, um..." I stammered. I forgot for a moment that Hana had said that name in secret, and hadn't meant for me to hear her. "I heard someone say it yesterday. I don't remember who. I just caught a little bit, and the name jumped out at me. I'm sorry." I looked at her apologetically.

She sighed. "No one you need to worry about now, Riku." She walked around the table to me. Everyone else commenced in getting up once more. Hana took my hand. "Why don't you come for a walk with me, Riku? I'm sure you have many more questions."

"Um, yeah, sure." She lead me through the doorway outside. Everything was purple, just like I remembered. Even the grass was purple.

"I'm really sorry, Hana. I didn't mean to overhear you."

"That's alright, Riku. You need to know about some things anyway." She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "But for now, let's not discuss Omega, alright?"

I nodded. "So, what's up with Cloud, anyway. He was acting weird in there."

"Oh, Cloud is just remembering something from back before my time with him." She looked at me and smiled. "You know, he's had two other girlfriends."

"What happened to them?"

"They both died."

"Oh."

"Cloud's never told me why Aeris, his first girl, died. But I was there when Tifa died."

"I heard Tifa's name in your conversation. A man named Sephiroth killed her, right?"

"Yes. She was trying to defend Cloud, for Sephiroth had worn him out to immense lengths. But he was too strong for her, so she didn't make it. I watched it all happen from behind a dumpster. That's where Cloud found me."

"Found you?"

"Yeah. I guess I should tell you our story, huh?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Well, I should go back to the beginning. When I lived on Earth, I was happy. I was married to an amazing man. Don't tell Cloud this, but I do love him more than Cloud. I always have. His name was Yuki. Oh, I remember him so perfectly. He had the most beautiful snow white hair, the most gorgeous teal eyes. Oh, and his laugh. I couldn't get over his laugh. We lived together very peacefully. We were young, but we wanted to start a family. Yuki was trying to become a pastor, as we are very Christian.

"One night, a storm hit our home in San Fransisco. It was unlike any storm either of us had ever seen. It was coal black. Everything precious to us was destroyed. Our home, our memories. Our last resort was our cellar, but the storm got through there, too. Yuki was sucked up into it's vortex. I thought I had lost him forever, until it sucked me up, too. I thought that we would be together again, thank God. Even in death, it would be alright. As soon as I was sucked up, I fainted.

"I awoke to a bright light. I was in an alleyway. I looked all around me for Yuki, but he was no where to be found. In grief and despair, I rocked back and forth next to the dumpster. I cried and cried, because I knew I never would see Yuki again. I knew I would never hold him, never kiss him, never love him again. It hurt so much I could hardly breathe. The pain in my heart was overwhelming.

"Then, I heard metal clanging. The sound of a gunshot rang in my ears. Through my tears, I peeked around the dumpster. People were running and screaming all over the place. The source of the metal clanging and the gunshot came from the middle, where a group of people seemed to be fighting. I saw a man with long silver hair, longer than yours, fighting a man with blonde spiky hair. I saw more people around him. There was a black man, who seemed to have a mechanical arm. He must have fired the gunshot. There was a women dressed in all black running back and forth, trying to keep up with the fighting men. The blonde man seemed to be getting weaker. The silver haired man struck him with astounding blows, but the blonde man blocked with great counter blows with his gigantic sword.

"The fight was so close that I believed that both of them would win, but the blonde man's strength finally gave away. His sword dropped with a clang, and he fell to his knees in exhaustion. 'You will never win, Cloud,' the silver haired man said to him. 'The darkness will always be inside of you.'

"Cloud breathed heavily. 'It's not about letting go of the darkness, Sephiroth...' He heaved a heavy sigh. 'It's about finding the light. The light will always overcome darkness.'

"Sephiroth smirked. 'Foolish. You are weak because you go searching for light, when there is none.'

"'You're wrong, Sephiroth!' The girl in black spoke up. She ran up to him and punched him in the face. Sephiroth seemed surprised, for I didn't think anyone had ever snuck up on him like that before. 'There is always light in darkness, as there is always good in evil.' She tried to turn around and spin kick him, but he caught her leg in mid-air.

"'Tifa! No!' Cloud yelled. Sephiroth started squeezing Tifa's leg to where it pained her greatly. She doubled over and fell to the ground, as Sephiroth let go of her leg. She got up shakily and started throwing more punches at him, but he dodged them easily.

"'You are just as foolish as Cloud is. See how good the light is doing you?' He grabbed her by the throat. She struggled and kicked at her, but he was just too strong for her. He slammed her against a nearby building. It shook a little from the impact.

"She fell down limply. She didn't move afterward.

"'NO!! Damn you!' Cloud cried as he picked up his sword. Sephiroth jumped into the air at amazing lengths. Cloud followed, but went right over his head. He landed back down, unhurt, but Sephiroth was already out of sight. It was as if he flew out of existence.

"Cloud stood there a moment, watching him go. Then, he dropped his sword and fell down in anguish. He was on his hands and knees, soft tears coming from his eyes.

"Tifa was still unmoving. Cloud looked up at her, and quickly ran to her side. He picked her up gently, and felt her pulse. He started shaking his head, still crying. 'No.' I heard him mutter, as he was in close hearing distance. 'No! NO!' He shook violently. 'Tifa... Tifa, don't leave me, please. Please don't go.'

"The screaming people around him had gone long ago, and the only people who were left were the black man from earlier, and a couple of other people, who seemed to be a part of Cloud's party. They stood around him, blocking him from my view, but not my hearing.

"'Dammit.' he said. 'Damn Sephiroth. No.' He stood carrying her with him. Tears were still coming from his eyes. 'First Aeris and Zack, now, Tifa.' He shook his head. He wiped his face on his shoulder. 'She's dead.'

"All of the other people hung there heads in silence.

"He looked up at them. 'This will not change our plans. We are still leaving this world. Sephiroth is still alive, so we follow through with our original plan. We expected casualties, so this changes nothing. We will leave at sundown.' He handed Tifa's body to the black man. 'Take care of her Barrett.'

"He walked away from them, and picked up his sword.

"That was when he saw me. I noticed for the first time then that he had the most beautiful sky blue eyes. He looked at me, all tattered and frayed, and walked towards me. I shrank back from him.

"He held out his hand to me. 'It's alright, come here. I'm not going to hurt you.' He looked at me sadly.

"I hesitantly took his hand. He lifted me up. My legs were wobbly, so I fell into his arms. I looked around his body to see that everyone else had gone.

"'What's your name?' He asked me. I looked back up at him as he positioned me upright.

"'H-Han-Hana. H-Hana Yosei.' I stammered. I wiped my eyes, wrought with tears.

"He smiled. 'My name is Cloud Strife.'

"That was the beginning of our relationship, I think. Cloud took me back to his home. I told him my story, and told him that I believed Yuki was still out there. He said he would help me find him, no matter how much time it took.

"He started teaching me how to fight when we left Midgar. That was Cloud's home world. He taught me basic combat maneuvers, parrying, and techniques only a true sword master could know. He had me my own custom sword made, and I designed it. I became his sidekick, sort of. Over time, we started to fall in love. We started dating, and soon after, he told me he loved me. He told me that it was true love, he thought. He never felt the way he felt about me with Tifa or Aeris. But I told him I could never love him as much as he loved me. Yuki was always in the way. I told him that I would date him, and maybe even marry him someday, but if we ever found Yuki, I would have to leave him behind. It almost broke my heart to see his face all sad that day, but what I said is still true.

"I think, since Cloud and I have been in love, he has become a much better person. From what I hear from Barrett and everyone in Midgar, he was a really lonely person before, not to mention, sort of a jerk. I'm so glad that I could help him that way.

"But we are still on the run from Sephiroth. He hasn't found us yet, but Cloud doesn't want him to even come close. He thinks that what happened with Tifa will happen again, with me. I've told him to face Sephiroth, but he's just so tired of fighting him that all he can do is run away."

Hana heaved a heavy sigh. I was so entrapped in her story, that I forgot we had stopped moving and sat down on a bench near the headquarters. I felt as if I was her through it all, all she's been through.

She looked at me, and smiled. "So now you know our story. I remember it all so perfectly, I feel as if it happened just yesterday. I've never actually told anyone my life, except Cloud when he found me. Everyone who knows about it was with me when it happened. I really hope I don't seem too... Um... what's the word I'm looking for, too morbid for you?"

I shook my head. "Oh, no, of course not!" I said. "I liked it. I mean, the part about Tifa dying and you loosing your husband was very sad, but I think I understand you and Cloud a little better, now." I smiled at her. "I understand your loss, I guess, because of all that's happened recently. Although, I couldn't begin to understand Cloud's. I probably wouldn't be able to bear it if I lost Sora that way."

She nodded. She got up and motioned me to follow her. "Come on," She said. "We should probably head back. If Cloud still hasn't come out of his moping, I'll need to talk to him."

"Mm-hmm." I followed her. We went back inside. Cloud was no where to be found, so Hana went to check his bedroom.

I saw Axel and Roxas packing for the trip. I went over and joined them.

"Ready to start the journey?" Roxas asked me. I nodded.

"If it helps me find Sora, I'm all for it." He smiled at me.

"Hey, Riku," Axel said. "Wanna see my Chakrams?"

"Your what?"

"My weapons. They're called Chakrams." He unfurled them with magical fire. They were like these round hoops with markins on them. He held them at his side and showed them to me. I was careful not to get near the points that were circled around the edge. "Aren't they cool?"

"Yep. Awesome." They were pretty cool.

"Wanna see my Keyblades?" Roxas said.

"You have more than one?"

"Yeah." He unfurled his two Keyblades. One was a dark Keyblade with a gothic design. The other was more of a light and cheery one that had a sort of medieval design to them, but with white, blue, and gold colors. "The black one is Oblivian, and the white one is Oathkeeper."

"How come you have two?"

"It's hard to explain." He looked at Axel. "I'll tell you later."

"Lunch, everyone!" Jesse yelled from the kitchen. We all gathered in the dining room/headquarters. Hana and Cloud came in last, holding hands. They must have talked it all out.

Lunch was sandwiches, which were really good. I still felt a sort of incompleteness though. Without Sora by my side, I couldn't feel as happy as everyone else at the table.

In two days, I would be on the quest to find Sora. I just hoped I didn't fail. If I did, then not only would Sora die, and I would loose him forever, but everyone in the Universe would be in peril. I just couldn't let that happen. And I wouldn't. Never.

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**Wow. This is now officially the longest chapter so far. I hope you enjoyed Hana and Cloud's story. It was really long, but I needed to get it out there. I hope you guys noticed how I'm adding Narnia as one of the worlds. I figured if they did the live-action world with Pirates in the second game, I can do it with Narnia. And in case you didn't know, the Island is A Bug's life. I needed to have a Pixar world in here, to show the merge with Disney.**

**Anywayz. Ja nai!**

**Hana-chan**


	7. The Land of the Dragons

**AN: I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry! I am soooo behind on updating! Like, seven months! I've been playing video games, writing other fics, and a lot of other stuff has been going on. You're going to come at me with pitchforks, aren't you? Well, maybe not. Seeing as how I only have 10 reviews. I feel so unloved! Did I ever tell anyone how much I love reviews? No, well I do, just so you know. T.T. And my TW fic is doing better than this one! It's not the one I'm focusing on, either. Ah, well. Can't be helped. TW is more popular than KH... *sigh* Review people! I need them! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Square Enix or Disney. What's your problem? Do you guys really not trust me?**

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The next two days passed by quickly in my anticipation to find Sora. Everyone was packed and ready. I was going to miss Axel and Roxas, but they told me not to worry.

"Cheer up, buddy!" Axel had said to me. "We'll see you soon!"

"Yeah," Roxas said, "I checked our Gummi ships, and it turns out that our paths cross somewhere down the line, so we'll see you soon!"

"Thanks guys." I said. I didn't want to part ways with them, for they were all that connected me to home in some way, to Sora. I was going to have to suck it up, though, if I wanted to find him. These past couple days didn't do any good, either.

For the past few nights I had been crying. You wouldn't be able to tell, because I cleared my face of tears by morning. But my heart was really broken. Every night I looked at his face in my mind. I sometimes drifted off to sleep in my daydreams, and when I woke in the middle of the night, I reached out expecting to find him there, thinking it was all a dream. When I realized it wasn't, I silently started crying. I tasted his essence in my tears, so somehow, it comforted me. I could taste his lips against mine, and I felt whole again for a few moments. But I knew that I wasn't whole. My heart was just pulled apart, empty and rigid. I needed to hold Sora to be whole. To tell him that everything would be alright. He was hurting, I knew he was. They were hurting him, making him suffer. They would pay for it, those people. I wouldn't be merciful when I met them.

All these things ran through my head during the night, and now that I was finally going to find him, my heart started to mend. The pain was slowly receeding, and all that I filled my head with was saving him. I didn't think about how he wasn't there, safe in my arms. That would have made the pain come back.

We left early in the morning after those two hard days. As I hugged goodbye to my friends, I felt a surge of remorse, like I had when I had talked to Axel and Roxas. Who knows when I would see them again? Maybe never. I had no way of knowing what this trip would bring for them, for me. They could all die soon, and so could I.

I kept my tears in though, as Yuffie told me not to worry. "I promise we'll see each other again, Riku!" She smiled happily, but I could see the doubt in her eyes. It's like we were saying our permenant goodbyes. I just nodded numbly, and hugged her hard.

I didn't hug goodbye to everyone, as I had only met them when I got here a few days ago. I just waved and said bye to them.

Although, Jesse wasn't having any of that. He grabbed me and crushed me to his chest. I felt slightly uncomfortable, seeing as how Jesse was gay, but he didn't seem to see my uneasyness. But then again, I was gay too...

"Oh! I'll miss you!" He sobbed playfully. "Even though we've only know each other for 86 hours, 27 minutes, and around 58 seconds, I feel like we've been best friends forever!" He was making a skeptical of himself, but he seemed not to mind.

"I-it's all right, Jesse, I'll be okay." I struggled to murmmur.

"Jess, darling, you're going to suffocate him if you don't let go..." Damien said from beside us.

"Oh!" Jesse finally let me go, but held on to my hands, tears still in his eyes. "Be sure to contact all of us, all the time, right?"

"Hmm. Sure." I said. I tried to sound hopefull.

He nodded, and smiled. I moved onto Axel and Roxas, pausing infront of my two best friends.

"I'm gonna miss you guys..." I said.

"Of course you are!" Axel said, hopefully. He walked over to me slowly, and hugged me close. "We'll miss you, too."

I hugged him back. Roxas ran over and joined in the hugging.

We stood there for a few moments. I started crying a little. I dugg my head in the crook of Axel's neck, wishing so hard that we could just all be home, Sora with us, and that all of this was a dream. We'd laugh about it, all of us having the same dream, and go about our lives.

I couldn't hold onto them any longer, afraid I might never let go. "Goodbye." I said to them.

"Bye, man..." Axel said, sucker-punching my shoulder. "Take care."

"Goodbye, Riku." Roxas said. They both started to walk away. Axel went to his Gummi Ship, just like everyone else had, but Roxas stayed.

"You know, they're all counting on us..." He said to me.

"What do you mean?"

"Hana, Cloud, Yuffie, Axel, everyone. They're all counting on us to find him..." He looked up at the purple sky.

"I know," I said. "I'm not going to let them down, are you?"

He shook his head. "You know, remember when you asked me why I had two Keyblades?"

I nodded.

"Well, its because I have a connection with Sora..."

"What sort of connection?"

He smiled. "Remember what Hana said, about Yuna and Tidus? You know, how the ones that are in Spira aren't the same ones as in our world?"

"Yeah, what about it?" I was a bit confused. What was he getting at?

He smirked. "Well, I'm like that with Sora."

I was a bit taken aback. "You mean, you're the same person?"

He nodded.

"But-- but you--!" My eyes widened.

"I may look different than him, but that's because I dyed my hair a while back, and I style it differently than Sora's. I changed my name, too. Roxas is an anagram of Sora, with an added "x". Don't I look like him to you?" He inquired.

Now that I thought about it, and looked at him, I did see a major resemblence. Almost uncanny. "All this time, you were the same person, all along..." I felt a sting come to my eyes, even more tears.

"But I'm not the same person..." He said, trying to comfort me. "Since I came to live with you, in your world, I've started to become different than Sora is. I'm really not Sora anymore. I'm just... Roxas."

I nodded, understanding a little. "You see, everyone on Earth has a counterpart, somewhere in the universe. You have one, too. Maybe you'll meet him sometime..." He said. "It's what makes everyone whole. If one of us dies, than the other one won't be whole. Sort of empty inside, I guess you could say..."

"Yeah." I said. I wiped my eyes.

"See, I have two keyblades because Sora was the original. You're an original, too. One person is born first, and then the other is born the next day, to keep the balance and order in tact. Sora and you were born first. Since Sora was the original Keybearer, I'm merely his double. Which is why I have two Keyblades..." I nodded. "So you see, I'm not the same as him, at all. Just _almost_. I'm counting on me and you, too." He said. "I miss him a lot. Almost as if he's dead. I know he's not, because I would feel it. I think they're hurting him there." I winced. "But he's holding out alright. He's always been the stronger one, out of the two of us. I know he'll make it through."

I nodded slowly.

"Riku! Come on! We can't find Sora by just sitting here!" Hana called out from the Gummi Ship.

"Coming!" I yelled back.

"So, goodbye... Riku..." Roxas smiled.

"Yeah, goodbye, Roxas." I hugged him once more, feeling another tear slide down my cheek. "See you soon..."

I let go, and ran back to the Gummi Ship as it was just taking off. I didn't look back at him. I was afraid I might not let him go. He really was the closet thing I had to Sora. I had always felt so comfortable when I was with him, and now I finally knew why...

I sat in my seat in the Gummi Ship, and looked out the window, to wave goodbye. But I was too late. Roxas was already gone....

:::::::::::::::::::::::::;

I slept most of the way. I really hadn't had a good night's sleep for days, and I was relieved when Hana said we'd be flying for at least 7 hours. She said the world we were going to was far away, even too far for Hyper-speed. So I slept.

I dreamt about Sora a little. Sometimes I dreamed about Roxas, and about what I learned earlier that morning. But mostly I dreamt about darkness. There was endless darkness, covering me on all sides. But even though it frightened me, I couldn't scream. I couldn't close my eyes. When I closed them, all I could see was white light, and it hurt my eyes. When my eyes were open, I heard a voice calling out to me. I couldn't tell whether it was Sora, or someone else. I heard whispers, female ones, but I couldn't understand what they were saying. The other voice was far too loud.

I awoke with a start. "Riku! Riku, we're here..." Hana said. I rubbed my eyes groggily.

"Where are we?" I said, but it came out a bit slurred.

"The Land of the Dragons! Of course!" She said. She stepped back slightly, letting the light from the windows fall on my sleepy form. The light was blinding... Just like it was in my dream.

"Come on. We have to keep moving." Cloud said.

"Hmm. Right," I said. I got up, and followed Hana and Cloud out of the Gummi Ship.

When I looked around the world, my immediate reaction to it was that it was a jungle. There were trees everywhere, a small path paved in dirt, leading through the thick wilderness. Among the trees, there were bamboo groves.

"Come on! Let's get going!" Hana strode forth, through the path in the wood. Cloud and I followed silently. It was then I realized that I never really talked to Cloud. He was just there, Hana always talking to him. I wanted to strike up a conversation, but suddenly, Hana came to a stop.

"Shhh!" She said, backing us away from the clearing. "Listen!" She whispered.

I heard a voice, coming out from the trees. It was female, but I didn't know what she was saying. I heard a horse neigh, and a male voice yelling something sarcastically.

"Are they the ones, Hana?" Cloud whispered to his counterpart.

Hana nodded. She started stepping away slowly, into the clearing, motioning us to follow her.

"I don't see you pretending to be a soldier, Mushu!" The female voice said, aggitated.

"Why, I'd be happy to take your place for you, Mulan. If I was _human_!!" The male voice said, again, sarcastically.

"Oh, yeah, sure. You'd just fit right in, wouldn't you? Ha!" We peeked around the corner, and I noticed the female speaking looked like a man.

A tiny little red lizard jumped from a hidden log, somewhere. It paced back and forth, seeming annoyed.

"This is all just fine and dandy, Mulan, but you ain't gonna go nowhere if you're being excecuted for being a wimpy, wimpy girl! You gotta toughen up! Be a man! Like me!" He puffed out his chest, trying to show off, but failed miserably.

"Uh huh. Sure, Mushu, sure..." That was when Mulan saw us. "Ah!" She ran and hid behind her horse. "Mushu! Help!"

The lizard, Mushu, looked at us, and scurried away. "Bessie! Help!" He seemed to be addressing the horse, sitting on top of it, frightend. So much for being a man. The horse sighed, then neighed.

Hana was the first out of the bushes. "Don't be afraid! We aren't here to blow your cover, if that's what your worried about!" She said. She motioned us to come out.

Mulan, hearing Hana's words, hesitated a little before stepping closer. "Who are you?" She said.

"I'm Hana, and this is Cloud, and Riku." She gestured to each of us. "We're here to help you! Don't you worry. We're on a quest to find someone, and we're willing to help you, if you're in need of our assistance." She bowed politely.

"I-I'm Mulan. This is Mushu." She pointed to the quivering dragon, as I now recognized him as. Mushu straightened up.

"I had this covered." He muttered as he stepped down from the horse.

Hana smiled brightly at them. She clasped her hands behind her back. "Now, tell us your situation. I can see it's complicated, and we're willing to listen.

Mulan hesitated once more. "I'm not so sure about this... Mushu, do you trust them?" She inquired to the red lizard.

"Hmm..." Mushu circled us, hands behind his back, as if interogating a suspect. "They seem... Other-worldly." He stopped infront of Cloud. "Hmm..." He said again. Cloud stood back for a moment. "Intresting..." The dragon jumped up on a twig nearby Cloud's head. He poked one of his spikes, but my superior stayed stock still. Mushu poked his nose, pretty hard, I assumed, for Cloud sneezed. I heard Hana stifle a giggle.

Mushu stared into Cloud's eyes forcefully, trying to see past the blonde's stone cold gaze. From what I gathered from talking to Hana, Cloud only let his mask down for her. It was a bad choice for Mushu to pick Cloud to examine, I thought.

But, out of nowhere-- and I don't think either I nor Hana were expecting this-- Cloud giggled. He laughed, looking taken aback by it, but all the same. He covered his mouth with his hand, but he couldn't stop laughing. Not hystarically, but more like he was laughing at an inside joke. He tried to stop but it was no use. Mushu was laughing, too.

All three of us, Hana, Mulan, and I, had dropped our jaws to the floor. I never thought I would see a guy like Cloud laugh like that. At least, not with anyone besides Hana.

Mushu jumped on Cloud's shoulder, both still laughing. Cloud petted Mushu's head, thoughtfully, as he wiped a laughing tear from his eye.

"You-- Ah ha!" Mushu stuttered, uncontrolably bellowing. "You-- ya just... G-g-go ahead, Mulan! Go on!" He shooed Mulan to begin her story.

It took us a moment to gain composure, Cloud and Mushu especially. After all of us registered the shock of Cloud's outburst, we all sat down, and Mulan began her story.

"My father was in the army a long time ago, and was wounded." She began. "The Huns invaded China not too long ago. The emporer sent an order out, saying that one man from every family was to join in the army. I have no brothers, and my father had to take part in the war. Ever since he was wounded, his health began deteriorating. I didn't want him to die, so I dressed as a man to take his place..." She sighed.

"That's so noble of you, Mulan." Hana said.

"What about you, Mushu?" I inquired. The dragon hopped down from his position on Cloud's shoulder.

"I'm Mulan's guardian!" He said, proud of himself. "I was sent by Mulan's ancestor's to watch over her."

"That's very noble, too, Mushu!" Hana said, patting Mushu's head.

"What's you're story?" Mulan asked Hana.

"Well, why don't you tell yours, Riku?" Hana suggested.

I pointed to myself. "Me?"

Hana nodded.

I hesitated for a moment, but then I thought, what the heck, I might as well. So I began to explain to Mulan and Mushu about our predicament. About how I was in love with Sora, and asked him to marry me on his birthday. I told them how he was taken away from me by Heartless, and being used by Maleficent to take over the Universe. I told them about Hana and Cloud finding me, taking me to Andromeda, and I explained to them what was going on with the signs, and me and Sora being Keyblade wielders.

"So we have to find these signs, and fast, or else Sora might die, and the whole Universe will be in peril." I sighed.

"Will you help us?" Cloud asked.

"Of course! Right, Mushu?" Mulan answered.

Mushu hopped up and down. "Of course we will! We're a team!" He jumped up on Cloud's arm. "Right?"

"Right." Cloud smiled. I couldn't believe those two were getting along, but they were. Cloud patted Mushu's head.

"Let's get going then, what are we waiting for?" Hana exclaimed, standing up. "Let's go and join the army!"

"But we have a mission to complete Hana," Cloud said sternly, more like his normal self. "And besides, you have to be a man to join the army."

"I know that, Cloud, but this is important!" She pinched his nose playfully. "Let's think of this as a brand new adventure, instead of a race against time. Ne?" She grabbed hold of mine and Cloud's arms, pulling us up. Mushu dropped to the ground after sitting on Cloud's arm. "I could always dress like a man, like Mulan's doing!"

"Hmm. I'd like to see that, Hana." Cloud smirked. "You're as much a man as I'm Miss Universe!"

Mushu chuckled, and I could help but stifle a laugh. But Hana looked slightly mad. "Well, what do you suppose we do, Cloud?"

"Why don't you tell the army you're from another country?" I suggested. "Show them how good a fighter you are, and they can't kill you, no matter if you're a woman. They can only do that to women from China."

Hana thought for a moment. "It's slightly risky, but it just might work. After all," She waved back her hair in an I'm-better-than-you-so-just-deal-with-it style. "I am an _amazing_ fighter."

Cloud nodded, agreeing with her, though I couldn't say, as I hadn't really seen her fight. Cloud obviously had. I mean, he had taught her all he knew, right?

"So then it's settled? We go into the camp and sign up!" Hana said.

"Sounds good to me!" I said hopefully. My spirit was lifted a bit, with this new endeavor soon to take place.

"I'm still worried about you, Hana..." Cloud said, stepping towards her. He took her hand gently. "Who knows what could happen? I mean, you could get hurt, like--"

Hana silenced him with one finger against his lips, saying, "Like Tifa?"

He glanced around, making sure no one was watching. Mulan was busy pack up her things, Mushu talking to... a cricket? But I was watching intently. Cloud glanced at Hana nervously, not wanting to have that particular conversation, in case I overheard.

"It's alright, Cloud. I already told Riku." Cloud eyes widened fearfully at Hana's words. "I didn't want him to always be guessing about our relationship, always asking questions. I hope you understand that."

She placed the hand against his lips on his lips on his shoulder. "Yeah," He said, "I guess you're right about that."

She smiled. I backed away a little, sitting down on a nearby rock, pretending to give them some space. I still listened though, watching a beatle crawl on the ground as a form of distraction for them.

"Cloud, you're always too busy worrying about me. You gotta lighten up! We aren't supposed to live forever, you know," She paused. I peaked up, seeing her wrap her arms around him. I looked back down again. "We're only here for a short, determined amount of time. No one knows how long we'll be here. I try to make the most of the time I'm given. I can't have you hold me back... Hold us both back..."

"I know Hana, I just don't want to loose you..."

"If you loose me, you loose me! You'll find someone else, move one, forget about me."

"No! That's not going to happen!"

"You're going to have to let me go someday, anyway, Cloud, whether or not I'm dead," I knew she meant that someday she'd find her husband, Yuki. "We have to do what we have to do. You know why I'm on this trip. You know why I'm helping Riku find Sora," Her voice faltered. She must have thought I wasn't listening. "I have to find him, Cloud. I'll find him."

"I-I know." He chuckled lightly. "You know, another reason why I'm so protective over you, is that, I've got this feeling that if we ever did find him, he'd kick my ass if I let you get hurt."

Hana laughed. "You're right, he would!"

They both chuckled in perfect rhythum. Sometimes it seemed that they were two pieces of the same puzzle. I couldn't picture Hana being with this Yuki. She just seemed so _right_ with Cloud.

I drifted my attention back to the beatle, my thoughts finally going away from the couple. But the beatle was gone. In its place, a creature crawled flat against the hard dirt around my feet.

I sprang up, bringing my Keyblade into my power, gripping the handle fiercly. I recognized this being as one of the things that took Sora away from me.

"Ambush!" I called, seeing more Heartless by the minute surround the clearing. Clearly, Mulan didn't know what to do, and neither did Mushu, so they cowarded around the horse.

Hana and Cloud quickly drew their swords. The next thing I knew we were attacking the Heartless that sprang from the ground. I whacked my Keyblade back and forth, much like I did six days ago. The diffrence was that I knew what I was doing. I let the Keyblade's power envelope me in its knowledge, instead of wielding it in anger and rage. My moves were more precise, my rhythum steady. I didn't realize it, but I was becoming what I was born to be in those few moments. A Keyblade master.

But even though I was attacking quickly and efficiently, the Heartless kept coming. "Hana, I can't- urgh- can't hold them off!" Cloud said through clenched teeth. They were coming much too fast.

Then, a sea of snow and ice hit a Heartless holding me off. I stopped and stared at the writhing beast, a single pink heart escaping from its chest.

I looked to where the blast came from. Two figures stood out against the mist of black monsters. One was short, one was tall.

"Anyone need some assistance?"

**:::::::::::::::::::::;**

**Ooooh! Suspense! Who are they? Of course you know who they are. Duh!**

**I hope everyone's been enjoying this fic so far. I also need your help. See, I want a bunch of Disney worlds in here, but I can't seem to pick them out. I would greatly appreciate it if you suggest a movie I could take a world from. I want to mix worlds that are in the games, and new worlds that are totally new to Kingdom Hearts. Can anyone help me? And I'm sorry that the last few chappies had very little action in them. There will me more in the next one!**

**I love the fact that Mushu and Cloud became bosom buddies! (lol!) I didn't think of that until I was writing it. The laughing scene just flew out of my fingertips, and I think it works! I love Cloudy so much! Mushu's cool too... Cloud is better!**

**So, I've finally updated. I don't know how long it will be before I update another chapter, but it should be soon. Keep in mind, I'm writing this fic, a Twilight crossover with Tsubasa Chronicle (go check it out if you like either of those), a new Phantom of the Opera phic, a book, of which you can check out the first chapter at fiction press, under my same username, betareading a fic of my friends, Kingdom Hearts:RevengeRomance (a Kingdom Hearts *serious* Sailor Moon parody, meaning it isn't one of those funny parodies, but actually a serious fanfic, but it IS funny at times. Go check it out, his username is xeikm. Start with the first one, though), and a new Sailor Moon fic about my otaku, Sailor Sakura. Be patient! Even though this is definately my main fic out of all of them, I am STILL writing them!**

**Anyway, see at chapter 7! See Ya!**

**Hana-chan**

**PS: I got a Cloud plushie! Yayness!**


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